At the April 13 meeting, the Slatington Borough Council approved the repair of the Slatington sewage plant's trickling water filter.

The repairs will be done by Eastern Environmental for $32,250, to come from the borough's sewer fund. The filters currently in place are not turning properly. It is thought this may have been caused by a problem with the bearings.The approval vote was six to one, with all of the council members except for Councilman Jon Rinker voting yes.Rinker voted against the immediate repairs, but not the repairs themselves, saying he preferred more certainty that the $32,250 would actually "guarantee a fix" to the overall issue. He also said the borough should acquire a second estimate and opinion from the original builder of the sewage plant, the engineering firm Gannett-Fleming.Councilmen Robert Steets and Rinker engaged each other in a lively debate over this issue. Steets disagreed with Rinker and said he would prefer that the problem be fixed now instead of waiting. He said the malfunctioning trickling filters pose a serious risk and should be fixed as soon as possible.While the repairs will be performed by Eastern Environmental, engineer Karl Schreiter has been hired to investigate what repairs and maintenance items will be needed at the plant, and it was Schreiter who recommended these repairs.The council was also discussed the leveling of the plant's clarifiers for an adjusted cost of $19,830, quoted by Eastern Environmental, which will be in charge of this project as well. Steets mentioned that a second quote of $21,000 had been provided by a different company, but the council agreed to accept the bid from Eastern Environmental. This project will involve the adjustment and re-leveling of the steel plate weirs in the clarifiers.Another issue was the plant's flow meters, but this agenda item was tabled by the council and will be discussed instead at the Sewer/Solid Waste Committee Meeting today.